If any man preach any other gospel, it doesn't matter who he is, he may come with the best possible credentials. He may have the best possible ecclesiastical standing. He may get the best possible rate up in the so-called evangelical press. But if he preaches any other gospel, God's curse is upon him. In April of 1965, Dr. Ian Paisley preached for the first time in Greenville, South Carolina, at the annual Bible Conference of Bob Jones University. He preached a series of four messages on the Protestant Reformers of the 16th century, These were men who left the Roman Catholic Church after searching the truths of the Bible. Some of these men died for their faith. Here is the first of those messages. The story of Martin Luther, the German reformer. We're going to look at Martin Luther this evening. We're looking at the first chapter of Romans. and just two verses, the sixteenth and seventeenth verses. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. To the Jew first, and also to the Greek, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed. from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. And that's the text, and we couldn't take any other text when we're speaking of Martin Luther, the great German reformer. We're looking, first of all, at his predestination by grace. takes weak things, but he never takes weaklings. And I want to emphasize that. And you know, God is working from eternity to eternity. We're living in an age when it's being preached on every hand, the philosophy of collectivism. And man is only, as it were, a little part in the mass. And he can be trampled on, and he can be forgotten, and the great machine must rule on. But I am glad this Bible emphasizes the individuality of the human soul. And I am glad tonight God has picked out, down through the great periods of history, individual man. And he has chosen that. They did not choose him, but he chose them and ordained them that they should be his men for the generation in which they live. God has an hour for the man, and thank God he is his man for the hour. And I trust that you young people will give yourselves wholeheartedly to God, to be God's man and God's woman for this terrible hour of apostasy in which we're called upon to live and work for Christ. Martin Luther was a chosen vessel in that massive and monumental work of the history of the martyrs written by John Fox. There is a whole chapter dealing with prophecies that went before on Martin Luther. Thus the Bohemian martyr, a hundred years before Luther was born, when he was going to the stake to witness a good confession for his Lord and Savior, had this to say. After a hundred years had come and gone, The Church of Rome would give account to God for the deed that they were doing that day. And after a hundred years had come and gone, God had Luther with his hammer and his nails and his ninety-five theses to hammer on the church door and to declare perpetual war against the amulet of Roman Catholicism. So God never leaves himself without a witness. God will get men and women in every age to stand for God. And it matters not what the devil may do. Thank God it matters not what Papa will do either. That's the Pope by interpretation. Well, it matters not what he does. Thank God God will have his man and God will have his people to his glory. Luther was a chosen vassal. If you turn to Romans 9 and verse 15, you will find a tremendous verse there. And could I suggest to you that a study of the epistle of Romans is an essential to us all? Because as I have studied the pages of history, I have discovered this, that more revival started through this epistle than through the preaching of any other passage of God's Word. Haldane's great exposition of the Romans resulted in the revival in Switzerland. John Wesley's heart was strangely warmed as there was read the preface of Barton Luther's commentary on Romans. Revivals start when the great doctrines of God's Word are declared. And you have these great doctrines in the epistle to the Romans. Now here is this important scripture, Romans 9 and verse 15. For he said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have a compassion." Let me read to you Luther's comment upon that scripture. "'Let me,' says Luther, "'I will have mercy on whom I intend to have mercy, or whom I have predestinated for mercy.' This is a hard saying for the proud and prudent, but it is sweet to the lowly and humble who despair of themselves. For that very reason, the Lord has mercy on them. Indeed, there is no other reason for God's justice, nor can there be any other than His own will. Aren't we living in a day when man is elevated to be a giant, and the God of heaven is treated like a pygmy? Now, that's not the God I find in my Bible. The God I find in my Bible is the only true and living God. He's the God who rules. He's the God who chooses. He sets up one and He tumbles down another. And bless Him, none can stay at hand or say to Him, What do us now? Let's take courage tonight. Our sovereign, invincible God is on the throne. And the heathen can rage and the people can imagine a being thing. And the kings of the earth can set themselves. And the rulers can take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed. But he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. Praise God, I have learned to laugh with God at all the apostates of our day. You know, I am here tonight because of God's sovereign free grace. I am not here tonight because there was anything in the impious way. But I'm here tonight because there's everything in Jesus Christ. He is my all in all. Thank God for sovereign grace. Thank God for redeeming grace. Thank God for overwhelming grace. Thank God for the grace that Bunyan wrote about, grace abounding to the chief of sinners. It was this grace that made Luther what he was. And thank God it can make us the man and woman that we need to be. Let's look at this second point, his generation according to the flag. It was on the 10th of November, 1483, that Luther was born in the Duchy of Mansfield in Germany. He was called Martin because he was born on the eve of the festival of the so-called St. Martin. The name Luther is derived from a word that means pure. And when Martin Luther was born, his father Hans Luther knelt down at his cradle and offered this prayer, God make my son as pure as his name. Philip Melanchthon, the great colleague of Luther, speaks of Luther's mother thus. She was endowed with many virtues which befitted an honest woman. and was especially well-known in prayer and religious duties, so that she was regarded as an example of virtue and fidelity. I want you to notice something. That all of Luther's parents were benighted with the superstition of Romanism, yet they were praying parents. And you know, I'm here tonight because I have parents who prayed for me. I stand here tonight in answer to my mother's prayer. It was my mother that prayed for me. It was at a meeting that my mother conducted that I was led to know Jesus Christ. And I would say to the mothers and the fathers of this congregation, pray on, for God answers fathers' and mothers' prayers. And here was Luther, the answer to his parents' prayer. Could we look at this third point, his preservation by providence? You know, if God's going to save a person and work a work of grace in that person's life, he will work all things after the counsel of his immutable will. And even before that person is saved, God will preserve them even when their feet make his to have. There's an old hymn we sing at home. It goes like this, Preserve me when my feet may adhere to hell. Dare I would have gone, but Thou hast done all things well. Thy love was great, Thy grace was free, That from the pit delivered me. You know, all the circumstances of Luther's life as a young man were directed by an overruling providential care. One occasion he lay sick unto death. He was given up, but God raised him from the jaws of death. And in his weakness, he made his way homeward. And history tells us that he fell on the way through weakness, and the sword he carried severed one of his arteries. His companions' wrath fled from him in fright. But Luther, weak though he was, was able to hold the artery together, and so was delivered from certain death. It was again as he was coming home from the house of dancing that he was struck down by a lightning flash, and his companions were sure that he was gone. But he rose up to his feet wonderfully preserved. It was this, of course, that led him to give up his studies and to enter the Augustinian monastery. And he became a monk of the Augustinian monastery. On the 17th day of July, 1505, he started his real domination by the Roman Catholic Church. Here is his own words, I entered the monastery and left the world despairing of myself, I thought God would not take my part. And if I meant to get to heaven and be seen, it must be by my own efforts. For this reason, I became a monk and labored hard. And he went down into all the darkness and superstition of Romanism. He beat his father. He went on long fasting. He sought by penances to find peace for his soul. He did everything that is possible for a human being to do from the viewpoint of Romanism to find the peace that passes knowledge and all understanding. He says, I was a devout monk and followed the rules of my order so strictly that I cannot tell you all. If ever a monk entered into heaven by his monkish merits, certainly I should have obtained an entrance there. The doctors and theologians told me to do good works and thus to satisfy divine justice. But what good works can proceed out of a heart like mine, a heart full of evil thoughts and desires? So here we see Luther burdened with ritualism. You know, that's what the World Council of Churches, the ecumenical movement is doing today, taking us back down the road that leads to Rome. Well, if they're going to Rome, thank God I'm not going to Rome. I'm going home to heaven, to my Father's house. And they're going down and they're introducing all the ritual of Romanism. You know, in our churches, the Church of England, which is the state church, There's just passed now through our Parliament a law permitting the mass vestments, legalizing the Roman Catholic mass. And in these churches, they're setting up what I call the sin boxes. They're the confessional boxes. Setting them up here and there. And the people are prostrating themselves before so-called priests. And they think they'll get their sins forgiven that way. Could I say tonight, there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains. Thank God for the message of the gospel. And in the darkness of Romanism and under the chains of Catholicism and potpourri, God shed his matchless, sovereign light into the heart of Martin Luther. How did it happen? Let's look at his justification by faith. He came to the Word of God. My, how the Church of Rome hates the Word of God. And, of course, today the ecumenists have their own Bible, and they have perverted the scriptures of truth and the very glorious texts of God's Word that were the trumpet blasts that overthrew the Jericho walls of Romanism. They have twisted them and distorted them in order that their meaning is not the meaning that the Holy Ghost had in them originally. We need to be aware of the contorted scriptures that are given out and sponsored by the World Council of Churches and by the ecumenists of our day. They hate the Word of God. Thank God I believe in this old Bible from cover to cover. God's fabulously inspired Word. What a Word it is. It's the bread of heaven. You know, I'm like the old Quaker woman, and she was going to church one day, and one of these modernist preachers came along the sidewalk, He said to her, you have a Bible. She says, I have. He said, do you believe it? She said, yes, I believe it from cover to cover and I believe in the covers too to keep it clean. And he said, do you believe that the preacher was swallowed by the great fish? And she said, yes, I do. How are you so confident about that? Well, she said, I'm very sure, but when I get to heaven, I'll ask him and he'll say, yes, that's true. I'll talk to Jonah. And the old modernist thought he had this woman. And he said, but if Jonah wasn't in heaven, what would you do then? She said, sir, you could do the asking for me. That's the sort of theology I believe in. I believe in the destination of the modernists if any man preach any other gospel. It doesn't matter who he is. He may come with the best possible credentials. He may have the best possible ecclesiastical standing. He may get the best possible write-up in the so-called evangelical press. But if he preaches any other gospel, God's curse is upon him. And I'll not be shaking hands with him or helping him off in his work. So you can write me down on the other side when someone like that comes along. Of course, this is an unpopular path, but thank God it has upon it the benediction of heaven. Those that preach another gospel, God's curse is on them. And so we discover today that they're against the Word of God, but it was the Word of God that brought life. to the soul of Luther. And he read the Scripture, those two Scriptures I have read to you. And you know what captivated Luther's heart? It was that word there in verse 17, for therein is a righteousness, the righteousness of God revealed. That's what Luther wanted, righteousness. Ah, but his poor, guilty, The ruined soul could never attain to the righteousness of God. What was he to do? Where would he get a perfect immaculate robe? The tattered garment of his own good works couldn't cover the nakedness of his deprey of the ruined soul. And as he read on in the epistle, he came to that great verse in Romans 10 and 4. Would you look at it? is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. Ah, that was it. Righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ. And the glorious light shone into this darkened soul. It was not Luther's merits. It was Christ's merits. It was not what Luther could tell. It was what Jesus Christ had done. It wasn't what Luther said. It was what God said. That's the thing. It was finished at the place called Calvary in the passion of the middle cross when He stretched His hands out and gave His back to the smiter and His cheek to those that plucked off the hairs. When He said, Father, here's my bosom. Take your flaming sword and plunge it. into my heart, and spare the sinner he that spared, not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. Wonderful Savior, glorious sacrifice, all atoning precious blood. This was the message that revolutionized Luther's heart. And here is what he said, I felt immediately as if I was wholly born anew. and had now found an open door to heaven. My, that's it. Have you had that experience, friend? Is there someone here tonight that you haven't found heaven's open door? You can't say that you're really and truly and definitely Christ. Thank God tonight where you sit by simple faith in Christ who is the end of the law for righteousness. You can be supernaturally regenerated and fitted for heaven and made perfect and complete in the substitute for sinners in Jesus Christ himself. Of course, when this light dawned upon Luther's heart, the battle started against the powers of Rome. How could he any longer go to the mass and say he was offering up Christ Under this species of bread and wine, there came a preacher to Luther's country, John Tetzel, the greatest name that the Pope could find. Leo X, the pagan Pope, employed Tetzel to sell indulgences. The Church of Rome are still selling indulgences. They haven't changed. I came over in the plane with a World Council leader. He wouldn't tell me his name. I don't know why. Maybe he was ashamed of it. And he said to me, he said, the atmosphere with Rome is different. The atmosphere. Yes, Rome's licking them all over for a big swallow. And they've been tickled by the tongue at the moment. But my, when the crunching pita potpourri comes down upon them, they'll know another story. When Rome is in a minority, She's like a lamb. I have seen Rome like a lamb. When Rome is in inequality, she's like a fox. When she gets into the majority, she's like a tiger. And she's getting into the majority in these countries, and these poor blinded Jews are helping her forward. Oh, the believing union, the lamb in the wolf's belly. That's the union it's going to be. The wolf's going to swallow up this lamb of ecumenism. Well, thank God the Pope will not be swallowing us. If he did, he would have terrible indigestion. We'll look at this proclamation against indulgences. We'd better find out just exactly what Tetzel taught. He said, come and I will give you letters, all property sealed, by which even sins which you intend to commit may be pardoned. I would not change my privileges for those of St. Peter in heaven, but I have saved more souls by my indulgences than the apostle did by his sermons. The Lord our God no longer reigns. He has resigned all power to the Pope. This is popery, all right. Indulgence is a veal not only for the living, but for the dead. At the very instance, listen to this, that the money, that's the thing wrong. The money. You know, we have a saying in our country about Rome. Much money and Rome will say high mass for you. You'll get high mass. A little money and you'll get low mass. But if you have no money, you'll get no mass. That's the policy of Rome. You've got to pay up for it. Rome, you know, is what we call in Ulster, A never-never religion. We have a higher purchase system. They call it the never-never. I don't know whether you have it here or not. And you keep paying and paying and paying and paying, but you never own the article. You're still hiring it at the end of a lifetime. That's the sort of religion Rome has. It's paying all the time. When you come to the end, you're still paying. You know, they tell us that Pope John was a saint, but they're still lifting money to save masses. for the repose of his soul. He didn't go to heaven, the saint, in purgatory. Of course, I could tell you, if you come after the meeting, I'll tell you where he really is. Here is Rome, and Luther's righteous soul burned with indignation. And he sat down with his pen, and he wrote those famous theses, his ninety-five theses against indulgence. And there he is going through the market. Clay, Wittenberg, the old castle church. And he takes out his parchment with a declaration of an ending war against Romanism. And he takes his nail and his hammer and he hammers it upon the door. It was a challenge to the Roman Catholic Church. It's a challenge to our souls tonight. Why, we need men who will publicly nail their testimony to the church door and say, this is where I stand. There are many people, you know, who would like to contend for the faith behind closed doors. We have the minoster, and they say concerning me, yes, Mr. Paisley is a nice fellow. But we don't like his methods. We don't like his methods. We have got to stand for Christ. Not lollipops the Lord is looking for today. God is looking for real laborers, men that will bear the heat of the day and listen, dear young people, give your heart to Christ. and love him with all your soul, and then go out and stand for him. He is a great master. I would not change places with anyone. And I may have been slandered and kicked about Ulster, and the press has written me up for everything under him. I have been called every black name in the devil's full country, but I still sleep well at night and still eat good meals, and I do not need sleeping pills either. So we have got to stand for Christ. freely to stand. You know, I get a good laugh afterwards, but it's no laugh when you're in it. You can look back afterwards and really praise God, but when you're in it and everybody's hammering and everybody's against you and nobody seems to have a good word of you and you think you come some days and you sit down and you say, well, am I really a crank? Is there really something wrong with me? And then when you get through the battle, God brings in his peace that passeth knowledge. And you thank God for the courage he gave you to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Luther was a good soldier of Jesus Christ. I want to look briefly at the separation of Luther from Rome. The 10th of December, 1520, he was excommunicated. The elector of Saxony refused to give him up. He was brought before the Diet of Worms. Do you remember how he went fearlessly to meet the Roman accusers the night before he went on trial? He offered this prayer. I want to read it to you. What a prayer it is. God help me to pray prayers like this. This is the prayer that made the Reformation. Here it is. Almighty, eternal God, how pure a thing is this world! How little a thing will cause the people to stand open mouth! How little in me is the confidence of man in God. Do Thou, O Lord, assist me against all worldly wisdom and understanding? Do this! Thou must do it! Thou alone! It is not truly my cause, but Thine own. I myself have nothing to do here and with the great princes of this world, but it is Thy cause. which is just and eternal, I rely upon no man. Come, O Lord, O come! I am ready to give up even my life patiently, like a lamb offered, for the cause is just. It is Thine, and I will not depart from Thee eternally. This I resolve in Thy name. The world cannot force my conscience, should my body be destroyed therein. my soul as I, and remeaneth with thee forever." What a prayer! And the next day he could say before the great assembly, Here I take my stand! I can do no otherwise! God help me! Amen! When you pray the way Luther prayed, you'll get backbone and courage and grit and guts The stand for Jesus Christ. That's what we need today. I was telling one of our brethren about the story we have in Ulster about two skeletons and they were in a cupboard. And one said to the other, this is a dark, gloomy cupboard, isn't it? And the other skeleton said it is. And the one said to the other, we've been in here a long, long time. And the other said, we have. And one said to the other, why don't we get out? And Diller said, sure, we have no guts. I think that's why a lot of people don't stand for Christ, isn't it? They have no guts. They couldn't get out. And I have yet prayed the way Luther prayed. You'll have guts to stand for Christ. You'll really, really stand for Him and have things on all to remain standing. You know, the Church of Rome thought after this they would get Luther and they would put him to death. And his friends kidnapped him and took him away to the Wartburg Castle. Kept him under close guard. Did he lose his time there? No, he invested it for God. He translated the Bible into his mother tongue. And where Luther couldn't go, the Word of God went. And the Reformation spread like a prairie fire. This was the Lord's doing. Was Luther a happy preacher? He was the great songster of the Reformation. And when the day was dark, and when the enemy came in like a flood, he used to say to Philip Melanchthon, let's sing the 46th Psalm. And of course, his great paraphrase of that psalm is, a mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark feeling never. He gave to the Reformation some of its greatest songs. He had jubilation in songs. But the day came when Luther had to say goodbye to this world. The Church of Rome spread in Italy that Luther had a terrible death long before he died. They said he died in agony. They said when he was buried, the very grave moved. And when they opened the grave to see what was happening, there was neither bones, nor flesh, nor grave clothes, only a smell of sulfur that knocked everybody down. And when Luther heard this, he published it in a leaflet. And they spread it around how Rome said Luther died. He was still living. The Romanists would like to have us all dead. But thank God we're above ground yet in the battle for Christ. But there came a day when he died. He passed on. And what could be said of Luther better than was said of Paul? I have fought a good fight. I have finished the cause. I have kept the faith. May God help us all to finish well. God is our refuge and our strength, His face our path and way. Therefore, O Lord, we ask Thee, O Lord, we will not be afraid. Though hills of mist thus thick become, Though waters rolling in, And swampy yet over hills, Thy silence keeps true shade. The river is too steep to climb, the city of our God. The holy place where in the Lord, most high up is our home. For in the midst of hurt and wealth, nothing shall hurt me more. The Lord to our help and will, comes as my very truth. Our God, who is the Lord of hosts, is still upon our side. The God of Jacob our refuge, Our heaven with our life.